Can Illinois contain Michigan State’s Neitzel? If so, what about the others?

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2008 at 11:45 AM

The strategy on defense was simple last season. Stop Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel. "Neitzel would run through two screens this way,'' said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "If he didn't get a shot, he would have three screens that way.'' But when Illinois plays at No. 8 Michigan State tonight, Illinois faces the difficult challenge of slowing Neitzel while trying to keep an improved supporting cast -- especially freshmen point guard Kalin Lucas and emerging sophomore forward Raymar Morgan -- from going off.

John Supinie

The strategy on defense was simple last season. Stop Michigan State guard Drew Neitzel.
"Neitzel would run through two screens this way,'' said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "If he didn't get a shot, he would have three screens that way.''
But when Illinois plays at No. 8 Michigan State tonight, Illinois faces the difficult challenge of slowing Neitzel while trying to keep an improved supporting cast -- especially freshmen point guard Kalin Lucas and emerging sophomore forward Raymar Morgan -- from going off. Neitzel's numbers are down, but Michigan State's are up. The Spartans would set a school record for most wins in the first 21 games with a victory.
As the Illini reach the halfway point, even the optimistic Weber realized the Illini need to start winning if there's a big rally to save the season. But this is a major challenge for the Illini, whose two conference wins thus far came against Michigan and Northwestern, teams that combine for a 1-14 record in conference play.
"Somewhere we have to make a move if we're going to make something of the season,'' Weber said. "It's not an easy place to play. Michigan State is very, very good. You could play well up there and still not win the game. We're going to have to defend them and keep Neitzel from going crazy. Some of the freshmen can shoot. Lucas can make some plays. They have more weapons.
"It's a big week for us as far as making a little progress as a team.''
The league's preseason player of the year, Neitzel averaged 19 points, six assists and four rebounds in wins over Northwestern and Michigan to earn the Big Ten's player of the week Monday. He shot 58.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line in the two victories.
"You have to play one-on-one with him,'' said Illini guard Chester Frazier, who will spend the bulk of his time on Neitzel. "You have to chase him around. You almost can't help off him. If you turn your head, he might be coming off a triple screen. You have to rely on all your help.
"They've got a couple young guys. Lucas is playing really well. Morgan has stepped up his game to one of the better players in the league. It's taken a lot of pressure off (Neitzel) and made them a better team.''
Called the quickest player by Tom Izzo in his 13 seasons as head coach and 25 years with the Spartans, Lucas is averaging 12.9 points and 4.2 assists over the past 10 games. He matched a career with 18 points in the 77-62 win over Michigan on Sunday, but the best performance in the span came when he posted 17 points, six assists and six rebounds against Texas and highly regarded point guard D.J. Augustin.
"It's been awhile since a freshman has played at this level as consistently and as good for us,'' Izzo said.
Lucas ranks third on the Spartans with 9.9 points a game, trailing only Morgan and Neitzel. He's also averaging 24 minutes a game, slightly more than junior starting point guard Travis Walton.
A second-team all-conference pick by two preseason magazines, Morgan lived up to the billing by becoming Michigan State's leading scorer after boosting his average from 11.7 points last season to 16.6. He is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, tied for seventh in rebounding and second in field-goal percentage (57.6). Reserve freshman guard Chris Allen is a 3-point shooter who is averaging eight points per game over the past five outings.
The Spartans have a four-game winning streak. Michigan State's hiccup in conference play came when Neitzel and Morgan combined for 9-fo-26 shooting and no one else picked up the slack in a stunning 43-36 loss at Iowa. The Spartans had 16 field goals and 18 turnovers.
"When the (underclassmen) have to be the guys, it puts them in a bind,'' Weber said. "We have to limit Neitzel and keep (Raymar) Morgan under control. Don't let the big guys get easy hoops. If we can do that, that puts more pressure on other guys. It gives you a chance.
"They've had scoring droughts at different times. They can struggle. At lot of it is how Neitzel goes.''
But he's got more help this year.

NOTE: The Illinois game against Michigan State in Assembly Hall has been set for March 6 at 8 p.m. It will be broadcast by ESPN or ESPN2.

John Supinie can be reached at johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read his Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com and www.pjstar.com

Illinois (10-11, 2-6) vs. No. 8 Michigan State (18-2, 6-1)
8 p.m., Breslin Center, East Lansing, Mich. (Big Ten Network, Illini Sports Network)
ILLINOIS (10-11, 2-6) ppg rpg
F Brian Randle Sr. 6-8 10.2 6.0
F Rodney Alexander Jr. 6-7 5.6 3.3
C Mike Tisdale Fr. 7-1 4.1 1.7
G Demetri McCamey Fr. 6-3 6.2 2.3
G Trent Meacham Jr. 6-2 10.7 2.4
MICHIGAN STATE (18-2, 6-1) ppg rpg
F Goran Suton Jr. 6-10 8-8. 8.5
F Raymar Morgan So. 6-7 16.6 6.8
C Drew Naymick Sr. 6-10 3.6 3.9
G Drew Netizel Sr. 6-0 14.1 3.0
G Travis Walton Jr. 6-2 3.3 1.8
Noteworthy: Illinois leads the all-time series over Michigan State 53-49, but the Spartans own a 31-18 advantage in games played in East Lansing. Illinois has won eight of the past 12 games in the series, including three victories in its past five trips to the Breslin Center. … Illinois senior center Shaun Pruitt is the Big Ten’s active leading rebounder with 602 career boards, leading Indiana’s D.J. White (601) by one rebound. Pruitt played Sunday after a one-game suspension. … After averaging 7.7 points in the first three conference games of the season, Neitzel is averaging 17.5 points over the past four games and 19 in the past three. … Michigan State is shooting a Big Ten-best 49.3 percent from the field this season. The Spartans rank 12th in the nation.
Key for Illini: Control the tempo and keep the score low. There's no way the Illini can win a shootout with the Spartans.
Key for Spartans: Make it a numbers game. The Spartans' bench outscored its opponent in 16 of 20 games.
Key quote: "They are better than their record. The nice thing for me is we have enough players that have been around here to know there's incredible respect for the Illinois program. Because of that, I don't see anybody looking at what their record is.'' -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
Prediction: Michigan State 70, Illinois 60

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